Copyright 1999 The Seattle Times Company
The
Seattle Times
January 31, 1999, Sunday Final Edition
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. B4
LENGTH: 406 words
HEADLINE:
TELLING OLYMPIA IT'S NOT JUST A WOMAN THING
BODY:
LAST year, the state Legislature decided it had to study
costs and benefits before it could require health-insurance plans to add
contraceptives to their prescription plans. Fair enough. The results are in, and
the economic benefits of offering contraceptives far outweigh the costs for
everyone involved: the women, their families, their bosses and even - or perhaps
especially - their health-insurance plans.
Insurance plans in
Washington, like most states, have a painfully low rate of covering basic
contraception. Though nearly all plans cover maternity care and most cover
abortions, only half cover some form of contraception. Fewer than one-third
offer a range of the most effective kinds. What's more, employers often choose
not to select contraceptive coverage, frequently presented to
them as an "extra" with an additional cost.
As a result, the main health
concern of women in their reproductive years is ignored and underfunded. Women
end up spending far more than men on out-of-pocket health-care expenses, mostly
due to reproductive care. Many have to rely on less reliable, over-the-counter
methods such as condoms or spermicides.
Not surprisingly, about half of
the pregnancies in Washington are unplanned or unwanted. It's a statistic that
defies myths and spans all ages and income levels: Teenage girls and poor women
account for fewer than half of these unplanned pregnancies.
Insurers are
too busy railing against the prospect of an unfunded mandate to realize what a
blessing it would be for them. Even in managed care, a healthy baby costs $
8,600 to deliver; a low-weight baby costs as much as $ 30,000 in its first year
of life alone.
Contraceptives are a no-brainer, by comparison. The
American Journal of Public Health found that contraceptive
coverage in a given health plan would pay for itself if only 15 percent
of the women not using contraceptives took birth-control pills: The money saved
from prevented pregnancies would pay for pills for everyone - thereby saving
even more money in prevented pregnancies.
This is an opportunity for
Washington to become the second state in the nation where health-insurance plans
must offer contraceptives along with other prescription drugs. It's a simple
change that will help insurers see the connections between contraceptives and
lower costs. But first, it will require insurers to stop treating family
planning as a feminine indulgence.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: February 1, 1999 
